Volume 1

Cyclopaedia of obstetrics and gynecology ... / [edited] by Egbert H. Grandin.

Date:
1889
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Cyclopaedia of obstetrics and gynecology ... / [edited] by Egbert H. Grandin. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by The University of Leeds Library. The original may be consulted at The University of Leeds Library.

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    cause, that involution might cease for a day, the uterus even increasing a trifle in size, to decrease again, finally sinking into the pelvis about the tenth or twelfth day. Table showing Decrease in Uterus, during 12 Days after Labor. [Condensed—Ed.] Days. Mean height. Mean height from pubes to fundus. Size of body. Mean situation of umbilicus. 1. 6.3 4.8 4.8 5 inches above the pubes. 2. 0.8 4.3 4.5 3. 5.5 3.9 4.5 5.4 inches below ensiform car- 4. 5.2 3.5 3.9 tilage. 5. 4.8 3.1 3.7 6. 4.5 2.5 3.3 7. 4.4 2.3 3.1 8. 4. 2.1 2.9 9. 3.7 1.7 2.5 10. 3.8 1.3 11. 2.9 .9 12. 2.9 I have further found, in agreement with Autefage and Depaul, that in- volution occurs more rapidly in primiparas than in multiparas, and I fur- ther admit the manifest influence of ergot administered after delivery. I cannot express myself as positively in regard to the influence of lactation. It has seemed to me to interfere with involution, but my observations have been made in a hospital where each woman is obliged to nurse her infant. Nevertheless, comparative observations, but incomplete because made on private patients who will not submit to careful experiment, incline me to agi-ee with those who believe that lactation interferes with involution. Pinard, my colleague, is of the contrary opinion, but my teacher, Depaul, agrees with me. [In reference to this point, one would, d priori, be led to the belief that lactation assists uterine involution. It is a familiar fact that the applica- tion of the infant to the breast causes uterine contractions, painful to the mother, and we can recall one case where^iis eSect was constant for the first ten days after delivery. Contractions of the uterus not only empty it of clots, but also make the organ less congested, more bloodless. Fur- ther, the sympathy between the uterus and mammse is so close, that it is allowable to think that congestion of the one, excessive function of the one, may have a derivative action on the other. The milk markedly diminishes where the lochia become profuse or last over long; while in our experience, other factors equal, the lochial flow is more natural in women who nurse, or have an abundance of milk, than in those who do not. We believe, therefore, that the proper performance of lactation assists involution through a species of derivative effect on the uterus. Careful comparative experiments are, however, necessary to settle this point. —Ed. ]